Windows To The Soul
by Miriluin
Summary: Living happily as a couple, Shino and Itsuki have had the ideal life. But when Itsuki returns to Shino after a job at the temple with a little extra baggage, how will Shino deal with him? Rated M for future chapters!


The cake had turned out wonderfully. Shino wiped the powdered sugar off his hands and stepped back. A beautiful tower of white and lustrous red stood before him on the counter. The butter cream frosting was lovingly smoothed, each glazed cherry poised delicately on a mound of whipped chocolate. It was glorious, and he was very proud of it. Itsuki loved cherries. In the summer seasons they always had a bowl around the small apartment they now shared.

He mopped up some of the leftover frosting on the counter, remembering how big of a struggle it had been to convince Itsuki to move in with him. He had blushed and blustered, but eventually gave in with that small embarrassed smile of his. A perfect indication of how much he liked the idea. He often gave that smile whenever they were cuddled up together, or eating one of his home cooked meals.

Those moments were rare nowadays.

Finding medium work had gotten tougher since they had moved away from Mitsuki's shrine. Itsuki managed somehow, always relying on his outgoing personality and the fact that he had been a medium most of his life to garner jobs. It was only recently that he had found a temple that wanted his services for more than just a small possession. He had quite a few regular visitors for the ghosts he would channel, and more often than not he was the person deemed fit to play host to larger spirits.

The last job he had was to get in touch with the spirit of a wild cat who had been killed on the temple grounds. It hadn't been an ordinary cat; he had been the leader and spiritual guidance of the animals on the sacred ground. His death had thrown the small animal population around the area into a frenzy. No one could figure out why the birds stayed silent during the day but cawed as loud as they could at night. That is, until Itsuki channeled the cat's spirit, who then gave his final speech to the animals, and appointed a successor.

They had celebrated when he got home from that one. They shared a long bubble bath to relax his used body, and then spent the entire night exhausting the feline energy that still coursed through Itsuki. Shino had never felt so ravished, and admired the long scratches on his shoulders until they faded. Their love making could be described as just that; love making. It was usually explorative and wonderfully intimate. He enjoyed it of course, but sometimes it was a thrill to experience new things. He could always tell when Itsuki had leftover traces of whomever or whatever he channeled whenever they had sex.

He missed Itsuki dearly.

This time, he was away for an incredibly difficult medium session. Someone from the temple had become possessed by a demon, and it was his job to accept the demon into his own body and expel it.

It had been two weeks. Normally he would at least send a text message letting Shino know how long it would be, or at least how long he thought it would take. But he hadn't heard a thing until this morning, when someone from the temple had called to let him know Itsuki was on his way home. The conversation had been a little strange in his opinion though.

"Shino speaking."

"Uh, hi, yes, er, Shino you said? Itsuki's friend?"

"Yes, can I help you?"

"This is Akio from the temple he works at. He um, he'll be home later this evening."

His heart had picked up, despite the fact that the man sounded incredibly terrified.

"Thank you so much for letting me know!" He could hardly keep from laughing he was so happy. Is everything alright?" he started to ask, but the man hung up.

Dismissing it with the fact that perhaps Akio wasn't the brightest of characters, he had immediately set to making a welcome home present for Itsuki. That's when he got the idea to make a cake.

He had dinner all prepared too, with a ton of Itsuki's favorites; grilled mackerel with rice and summer squash, and an assortment of homemade dumplings.

Seeing as how Shino only ate simply when Itsuki was away, he pulled out all the stops, shopping for nearly two hours for all the ingredients. They only lived a mile from the supermarket, so it was a great way to plan on the go.

It was all ready. All he had left to do was ready himself. And ever since he had cut his hair, freshening up was easy.

He was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when he heard the front door slam.

"Anyone home?"

The familiar voice, pitched in a confidant alto, sent a shiver down Shino's spine.

His beloved was home.

"Itsuki!" he cried, running to the living room. "Welcome ho-"

He stopped.

Standing in the doorway, Itsuki grinned at him. "Welcome home? Thanks, it's good to be back. You look good enough to eat, Shino."

Chills spread through his entire body. Standing before him was Itsuki, the one he missed and loved. H shaggy black hair, confidant smile and jaunty stance were all normal.

But his eyes, his normally caramel colored eyes, were not. Bright gold irises stared him down hungrily.

"It…Itsuki?"

The being before him grinned. "Nice try, sweet stuff. But he's been gone for a little while now. You can call me Itsuki if it suits you though, I don't really care. I've never had a name. But I can tell you one thing, you have yourself a prime cut of man in that Itsuki guy. Was I ever grateful the temple gave me him in place of that dumpy old servant.!" He laughed loudly. Shino shuddered. It was nothing like Itsuki's laugh.

The man sniffed the air. "Mm, what smells so good? Have you been cooking to welcome me home? I knew you'd be everything that idiot kept babbling on about."

As he moved into the kitchen, all Shino could do was stare after him, paralyzed to the spot by fear. Akio's fear was now his fear. Tears sprang to his eyes. His lip quivered.

The temple hadn't wanted Itsuki for the job so he could dispel the demon.

They had wanted him as host for it.


End file.
